The nursing shortage in the U.S. is indicative of a number of
significant forces, including changing demographics, decreasing
resources, and increased demands on the health care system. The paper shows that, while work force shortages occur cyclically in other professions, this increasing shortage of nurses appears to be more severe and complex. The paper argues that the results of this trend, if left unchecked, will pose a
significant threat to the overall well-being and health of the nation. In order to investigate this trend and create a hypothesis as a means for reversing the shortage, this paper proposes to investigate how creating a mentoring approach to recruit nurses could increase the number of nurses applying to nursing programs, improve the a retention rate of nurses entering the field, and increase the level of job satisfaction among nursing
professionals.